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Standards Correlations
R.1, R.3, R.4, R.7, R.9, W.2, SL.1, L.4, L.6
Learning Objective
Students will compare and contrast two articles about the histories of popular foods.
Key Skills
compare and contrast, text features, vocabulary, problem and solution, sequence of events, interpreting text, critical thinking, inference, informational writing
Complexity Factors
Purpose: The texts explain how two foods (chicken nuggets and macaroni and cheese) became American classics.
Structure: Both texts are chronological.
Language: The texts use simple, direct language.
Knowledge Demands: No prior knowledge is needed.
Levels
Lexile: 600L-700L
Guided Reading Level: T
DRA Level: 50
Lesson Plan: Nugget Nation/Mac and Cheese Mania
Essential Questions
Literature Connection
1. Preparing to Read
Activate Prior Knowledge (5 minutes)
Ask students what their favorite food is and why they love it. Is it the taste? The texture? The memories it brings back? Have students talk in pairs about their favorite foods.
Preview Text Features (15 minutes)
Guide students to locate the articles. Then preview the text features by asking the following questions:
Preview Vocabulary (10 minutes)
Make a Plan for Reading
Before students start to read, walk them through a reading plan:
2. Reading and Unpacking the Text
Guide students to read the articles. Once they understand them well, discuss the following close-reading and critical-thinking questions.
Close-Reading Questions (20 minutes)
Critical-Thinking Questions (10 minutes)
3. Skill Building and Writing
Learn Anywhere Activity
An enrichment activity to extend the learning journey at home or in the classroom
Research your favorite food.
Find out the history of your favorite food and write about it in the form of a magazine article. Questions to investigate:
ELL Springboard
Teach interjections to make conversational English more accessible.
After reading the article, ask students if they understood the part of “Nugget Nation” where the author says “Yikes!” about the experience of killing and cleaning a chicken. Explain that this is an interjection meant to show alarm. Tell students that interjections are words or phrases spoken suddenly to show a feeling. Speak these common English interjections aloud and see if students can explain when a person would be most likely to use them:
Encourage students to volunteer interjections from their native languages and to notice how tone can sometimes transcend language (an exclamation of surprise might sound similar in a number of languages).
Looking for more ELL support? Download our full lesson plan and scroll to p. 5 to find questions that will help your ELLs respond to the text at the level that’s right for them.
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